Alvaro Arbeloa says Antonee Robinson was “fantastic” as the Fulham left-back bounced back in style in the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.
Robinson endured a difficult evening in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup exit against Crystal Palace, but the Fulham boss kept faith with him – and was rewarded at Villa Park.
The USA international was a constant outlet down the left, and it was his work that won the corner from which Alex Iwobi’s delivery led to Fulham’s equaliser.
“For me as a coach, I was there (as a player) so many years ago, and I know how you feel when you have a bad game,” said Arbeloa.
“When you believe in your players, you have to give them the chance to play and to show how good they are.
“‘Jedi’ was fantastic tonight. He did really, really well. He has the experience, he has the quality, and it’s very important for us.”
The point stretched Fulham’s unbeaten Premier League run to three games and lifted them up to 15th in the table.
“I’m so happy with our performance in the second half. This is what I want to see from my team,” Arbeloa added.
“That character – and I think we maybe deserved a little bit more.”